#android marketing

Creating an android app is certainly no easy task. But when you start to see your app coming to a stage where you can actually release it, you are likely to think about one important question: how to promote a new app? This guide aims to show you all you need to know, so that you can grow your app user base from the get-go.

  You probably don’t want to see the same curve of success like flappy bird had with an essentially nonexisting user base from may 2013 to January 2014.

  But how can you actually promote a new app?

In my experience, you can actually start your app launch campaigns in many different shapes and forms and still be successful.

This all depends on the time your app is in development and how much budget you have to begin with.

One essential that I also present in the step-by-step app marketing guide is to reach out to as many potential influencers as soon as you release your app. The more hype you create around your app during the first 3-4 weeks of the app release the better.

  Why are the first 3-4 weeks so important for successful app launch campaigns?

  When you release a new app on the google playstore, you will not be able to directly rank for two major traffic sources from the getgo: The overall top rankings and the keyword search queries.

  But you have one potentially great free organic ranking that you can work with, the top new free charts.

  The Top New Free Charts are split into 30 different categories, but you can eventually rank for two of them. This all depends on the category you choose when you upload your app to the playstore.

  The problem with these charts is that most of the users don’t know about them. So the rule of thumb to get organic traffic in the playstore (a ranking that is 25 or above is equal to a ranking on googles first page in SEO from a traffic purpose) does not count towards this rankings.

  But getting high installs and creating successful app launch campaigns does actually have one great benefit.

The featured apps from Google.

  Why can featured apps be essential for successful app launch campaigns?

The featured apps list is great to get massive traffic and with that also more money from your app. Why is that? Google loves new apps that they can feature. But they only want to feature the right apps. They don’t want to feature the same apps over and over again as that does not increase the value of their store. But they are not going to feature apps that don’t meet certain criteria.

  What do you need to focus on for google play features?

A Google Feature is hard to get, but not impossible. Especially when you use certain strategies that also work great as successful app launch campaigns you are on the right track to get featured.

  There is actually an in-depth launch checklist from Google that you should focus on, but for simplicity, I will give you guidance on what it all means.

  Checklist:

  The Developer Program Policies. This is a fairly simple to follow guideline, but you have to make sure that you are following it correctly. Make sure that your app:

Does not have restricted content in it

– this means no child endangerment in your app, so no sexual abuse of minors in your app (should be natural not to include that)

– no Inappropriate Content i.e. sexually explicit content (no porn in any form), no hate speeches, no graphically realistic violence or instructions that help harming yourself or others with the content  such as weapon-making and no terrorist content

– no user-generated content that is against your apps terms of use and user policy. Make sure you allow only content in your app from users that accept all your terms and policies. Especially content that is purely created to harass a specific person should be avoided by any means.

– if your app includes sensitive events like natural disaster, make sure you use it in a reasonable way.

– no binary trading or any deceptive or harmful financial instruments.

  If you have any questions regarding the Google launch checklist, comment below!

  If you want your app to be specifically featured in the google playstore, make sure you release it there first. Apps that get released for iOS prior to Android often times will not get featured simply because of the wrong release schedule. Especially gaming apps that are created with engines like unity that can be released for multiple platforms at once should always start with the release in the most important market first.

  Don’t sure what the ideal market to release first is? Check out the guide on app user personas and find out about your perfect user base that you should focus on.

  When mentioning Unity, there is also something else you should keep in mind. If you release your app for multiple platforms and you want a feature on a platform, you should incorporate the design standards and the newest technology in your app. This means for android, that you have to use the material design.

  When your app design is great and ready to get featured there is something else you should keep in mind for a successful app launch campaign, something that is especially relevant for long-term success.

  How App Store Optimization can make or break successful app launch campaigns

ASO, short for App Store Optimization, is a major part of successful app marketing, even in the beginning. Many Android developers make the mistake to focus on app store optimization after they already released the app, most likely at the point when they don’t get any organic growth and have to drive marketing campaigns for there app.

  But what is ASO?

  App Store Optimization is a way to drive specific, keyword relevant traffic to your app from the search results in the playstore. Essentially, ASO is like SEO for the Google Search, but within the playstore search. Luckily, the algorithm does not take backlinks into consideration and the content that you can produce on the page is limited to 4000 words.

  Let’s take a look at what you should always have ready when releasing your app to optimize your playstore search results.

  The App Icon for a successful app launch campaign

  For the On-Page Part of your Playstore Page, you should create a good looking icon. Most App Marketing Agencies will tell you that you should make an Icon that likes fairly similar to competitors apps and this has some benefits. If you create icons that are fairly similar to competitors, users will see your icon and will know what your app is all about as long as they know your competitor. If your competitor is successful in his app marketing, he will most likely run some a/b test about colors for the app icon that convert better and also tested the design for increased click-through rates.

  But there is one problem with it. People need to know your competitor’s apps to understand it. The app will most likely target similar keywords and will also be found in the search results. This can be problematic as users don’t want to download an app that they already know a second time. Most often at least.

  If users don’t want to use your competitor’s app, they are either not interested in what the app provides (not good for you if your app is similar) or they are searching for a better solution (good for you if your app is the better solution).

  If you go the other way, so you create an app icon that is different then your competitors, you are able to stand out from the crowd. Especially with more and more reskins of apps and less and less truly different approaches, a similar app icon will make most users think of your app as just another reskin. And it can even get worse if your app icon is too similar to your competitors, it can get your app actually restricted or even worse – banned – for misrepresentation.

  So maybe you should create a new logo for your app. I would suggest Canva for the beginning if you are not talented as a graphic designer or your design team is still deep down in designing your app.

  If you have Canva already open, you can also use it to create your app’s screenshots. To make it short and clear, there is a best practice that you can and should follow for it.

  You can upload 2-8 screenshots. Don’t upload any less than 8. It’s quite simple, the screenshots are the first graphical details of your app that users can see. If the screenshots are good, they are worth more then your text for your download rates. Try to tell a story about why the user should love and use your app – think about your user persona and create them with that in mind.

  For your Text, you should actually start using one great tool – AppAnnie.

  If you want to learn more about appannie, check the article on businessofapps.

  For your launch campaigns, you don’t actually need a paid account – a free amount is all you need.

  How can AppAnnie help with successful app launch campaigns?

  AppAnnie is a great tool to track keyword success of apps. The most crucial part for your launch will be the analysis of the keywords your competitors rank for. Take a look at the languages you are releasing your app in and try to find out the most important keywords for your niche that your competitors rank for. If you analyze 10 competitors you will find a good amount of keyword ideas to work with.

  With AppAnnie you will actually see in your free account two values that you can work with, the Ranking of the App for the Keyword and the overall amount of results for that keyword.

  If you go with a paid plan, you will also see a traffic estimation for the keywords, for free accounts, you have to estimate it based on the number of results and your buyer’s personas search intent.

  The goal is to find three categories of keywords, the traffic heavy high quality competitive keywords (for free – these will always have 250 results), the medium traffic and not as competitive keywords (120 – 230 search results for free accounts) and the longtail not competitive keywords (everything under 120 and not as often seen at your competitors).

  Select at least one of your high traffic keywords and put it in front of the title of your app. This will help you immediately when you try to compete for this kind of keywords. As your Title can be only 50 characters long, you should try to use them as much as you can, so if the title of your app without keywords is already 45 characters, you should maybe think about a different name or an abbreviation that you can use for it to optimize your title.

  Next comes the 80 characters long subtitle. This part of your description can be used to stuff in your medium keywords and at least on another high traffic keyword.

  By any means, i don’t suggest you work on keyword stuffing, but I would suggest you leverage your keywords especially at the beginning to show the algorithm what your app is all about and what your competitors are (without naming them, this can harm your app).

  If you have optimized your title and subtitle, you are now going to the fun part. Write 3900 – 4000 characters about your app and try to incorporate keywords in it without overusing it. If you mention the keywords you want to rank for and especially the longtail keywords, you will be able to create a good text that sales your app and does work for the keyword ranking algorithm in the playstore.

  After you finished this part, your actual marketing campaign can begin.

  How does the actual marketing for successful app launch campaign look like?

  I actually created a step-by-step guide for successful app marketing, so you should check it out.

  To give you a quick overview of what you should do:

  Contact as many influencers in your niche and ask them if they want to try your app. This way you will either get free media when they like your app enough and find it useful or they will at least tell you a budget that you need if they want to get paid for it.

  Create social media profiles in any relevant network, so Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit and anything else you can think about. Write about your app in any Group you can find and try to get as much buzz around your app as possible.

  If you followed my guide, you will have set up a landing page for your app and collected email addresses of people that want to try out your app. When you launched your app, write them, invite them and ask them to refer the app to friends as well on social media. This will help you optimize as many downloads as you can which will, in turn, help you get a better ranking and can even help you get a feature.

  You can also create some android app marketing campaigns in our marketing dashboard. For successful app launch campaigns, I would actually suggest that you create high retention campaigns for only specific countries. This way you get a good engagement, retention and the overall number of installs which will help a lot to rank your app and help you get more organic traffic.

  Conclusion; 

  Successful app launch campaigns need to be strategically planned and executed. Don’t fall into the pits that the playstore has when it comes to infringement and focus on two major parts: App Store Optimization and creating a buzz. If you need help, comment below and if you need more installs to grow your initial user base check out our Android app marketing dashboard.

Apps have become part of our daily lifes. Just 10 years ago, having a smartphone that is powerful enough that you can play 3D Games on it or use most websites without getting problems with the screensize was unthinkable. Nowadays, most of us will never even leave the house without at least one smart devices. So it’s easy to see why app development can be a great way to make money. The problem is naturally with the competition. You will most likely not create an app without competition. And even if you do, how can you make sure that users find your app, download it and engage with it? That is one essential question that many app entrepeneurs will come across when publishing there app. Another one is naturally how to make money with your app.

In this article i want to show you some of the best ways to advertise an app.

How to advertise an app organically?

As App Marketing Agency, we accompany a large number of app developers on their way to app success every day. The best five ways i could find to promote apps (in no certain order) are:

Organic Social Media Posts

Add Flyers for your App to your existing Sales Funnel

Place a Banner on your Website

Create a landing page

Use email marketing

Organic social media posts

Did you know that Facebook is still growing every day? They are currently on there way to 1.5 billion daily active users. The majority of them on smartphones and/or tablets. Facebook is therefore the ideal platform if you want your target group to download your app. Start a Facebook Fan Page for your app and join on of the many Groups that are in your niche. And then post about your development process and create video content for your app. Why video? Video is one of the major driver for online marketing success and apps are nothing else then a digital product from a marketing perspective. The chosen video format is particularly suitable as a marketing measure, because statistically speaking, moving pictures have the highest click-through rate.

My tip: Don’t leave it at organic Facebook advertising for your app. Play the full range of social media channels and integrate Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat into your marketing efforts. It is important that you clearly communicate the added app value for your users and integrate the App Store logos for immediate download.

App Flyer

App marketing is often much easier than you think – and has an even greater impact. Because sometimes you are only one app flyer away from your customers. With this marketing tool, you can promote your shopping app to your existing customers extremely efficiently with little effort and low costs and generate new app downloads very easily. Add the app flyer as a package insert to your next customer order. Then all you have to do is rely on the psychological unpacking effect of your customers, which has been proven to be one of the emotional highlights of the shopping experience. The joy of receiving the goods will certainly encourage your customers to download your app.

My tip: Increase the probability of downloading apps and make your existing customers happy with a voucher for their next order. With our free template, you can create the app flyer yourself in no time at all.

Banners on your website

Banners are another great way to increase your app downloads organically, if you already have a website. Integrate a link to the download into your sidebar and on your homepage so that website visitors can find your app and get to know that your app exists in the first place. The downloads will not come in a boost, but over time, this channel can generate a consistent flow for your app.

My tip: If you have a blog or a product based website, add Call to Actions to costumers who just signed up for your newsletter or are finished shopping. They are the most engaged at that moment and will be more then happy to use a good app from a company that they already know.

Landing page

Many of your mobile visitors already get a hint to your app through your smart banner. But what about the desktop surfers? You can deal with this increasingly extinct species with a landing page.

Explain your added app value to your visitors on the landing page: Maybe you can add a special for first time downloaders like free delivery when ordering via the app or a 10$ voucher for the first order. Add some value for the costumer when downloading your app and you will increase the likelyhood of them converting.

My tip: List all the advantages your app has to offer on your landing page. In addition to app vouchers, this can also be exclusive app content. Get your customers to make sure that you don’t want to miss any of your offers in the future. Don’t forget to integrate the direct download options to the app!

E-mail marketing

Email marketing is yesterday’s news? Not if you do it right! Because with the right strategy, email marketing and mobile commerce are made for each other. A newsletter is an excellent app marketing measure if it answers these 3 questions:

What does the app do for your customer?

Communicate the added value to give your customers an incentive to download the app: For example,communicate monetary benefits such as exclusive 10$ app vouchers and useful services such as free delivery for orders placed via the app. But push messages to communicate campaigns or exciting content such as lookbooks about the latest trends can also be included. There are no limits to your imagination.

How does your customer get the app?

Call-to-Action elements are the decisive keyword here. Separate links to the Google Play Store and the App Store are a must so that the customer can download your app directly. This makes it easy for them to access and for you to evaluate the conversion.

When is the best time to inform your customer?

The right time is crucial. It is best if you reach your customer on the move. On the way to work in the train, for example. He has time to browse and can download the app directly.

The latest study by App Annie, the app analytics company, shows: an average of two hours a day with is used with apps. Reason enough to take a close look at the question of how the app gets from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to the customer’s device. Because that is the decisive question for app success.

  5 App marketing paid measures

In general, I recommend online merchants to integrate the app as a new medium in all marketing measures they operate. The advantage: App marketing is possible with little effort and without additional costs and therefore offers you a top price-performance ratio.

In addition, there is an abundance of different paid advertising formats. Arranged from the cheapest to the most expensive, the following five app marketing measures stand out:

AdWords ad extensions for apps

Facebook retargeting

Facebook App Install Ads

Print ads

TV advertising

AdWords ad extensions for apps

Small tool with big effect

Most people know that companies can use ad extensions to enrich their text ads with additional information. These include, for example, additional links, locations or ratings. The advantage is obvious: the ads are more visible both on the desktop and on the move, thus improving performance. What is less well known, however, is that online merchants with their own shopping app can use the extension specifically as a marketing instrument. Once the extension has been activated, the app logo and a call-to-action message automatically appear below the mobile display. As soon as the user clicks on the app extension, he is forwarded either to the Apple App Store or to the Google Play Store. From there it’s just a click on the download button, and the online retailer has already won a new App customer.

To be listed with your own logo in the search results is an absolute unique selling point that advertisers can only exploit if they have an app. In addition to the increased visibility of the AdWords, another advantage is that costs are only incurred by clicking on the ad. As an app entrepeneur, you should exploit this potential as quickly as possible!

Facebook Retargeting

Closer to the customer

The fact that customers like to browse the assortment of an online shop without buying anything is a tiresome fact. As a rule, only 2 out of every 100 visitors actually buy something. Given the number of Facebook users – 1.48 Billion use it every day – the probability that the same customers are active on Facebook is very high. A total of 86 percent of the 1.48 Billion users use Facebook on smartphones and/or tablets – the ideal opportunity for you to advertise your app and thus increase customer loyalty.

In this context, Facebook retargeting is an ideal and relatively inexpensive method to draw visitors’ attention to your app.

If you come into contact again with visitors to your website or online shop and want to lure them into your app, all you have to do is form specific target groups among your visitors – the so-called custom audiences. You then create campaigns tailored to these target groups. Remarketing target groups can be very different. You can differentiate between buyers, visitors from certain pages of your shop, visitors who only looked at certain products or categories, etc. All these different user types are lucrative candidates for your mobile app.

Facebook App Install Ads

The direct way to more app downloads

In addition to retargeting, Facebook offers an advertising format specially designed for apps: Mobile App Install Ads. As with the other Facebook advertising formats, the complete Facebook target group selection is also available for this type of ad: Custom Audience, Lookalikes etc. In order to be able to generate new App installs as effectively as possible, the ads have been extended by special features:

In addition to call-to-action, the App Install Ads provide a preview of the app rating. Each ad is delivered with the label “Suggested App”, which increases its visibility in the user’s news feed.

An App Install Ad can be advertised with an image, a video or as a carousel ad. A text of up to 90 characters enables the image to be enriched with information.

The great thing is that you can consistently uses the diverse segmentation options, the advantage of direct target group address and the high reach of App Install Ads for App applications on Facebook and Instagram. With a relatively small daily budget, app developers can design successful campaigns with different addressees and durations.

  Print advertisements

Analog meets digital

Print ads are a costly but effective way to draw attention to your own brand. But it is not only the branding effect that makes print ads a good choice. There is also space here for content, which you should use to refer to the app. With a small layout change you kill two birds with one stone.

You can feature your app in local news papers or  larger publications, depending on your targeting and budget.

If you have the time and budget for big publications, i would recommend you take a look at our guide on press releases for app marketing.

TV advertising

See and be seen

“My mama always says …” – I’m sure you’ve met the somewhat old-fashioned boy with the unmistakable introductory sentence on TV lately. The brand he is promoting is called Dr. Goerg and offers high-quality organic coconut products. At the end of March, Dr. Goerg was the first company in the premium organic coconut sector to launch its TV advertising campaign. The last 7 seconds of the TV advertising show what the brand is aiming for in addition to product advertising. The Google and App Store logo of the shopping app is displayed there. Enough time for the viewer to process the information and download the app from the store. Try it out for yourself! Because TV advertising offers a good opportunity to compete with other channels for your app marketing.

There are different models and strategies for monetizing an app. Premium, freemium, subscription or advertising integration are the most common. Many app publishers think they only need to generate enough installations (downloads) for their app project to refinance itself. Many downloads and regular users are certainly important success factors for an app, but to earn money with apps, a suitable monetization strategy is needed. There are many apps with many downloads and regular users, which generate a lot of maintenance costs, but unfortunately no profit.

App Store Sales

About ten years ago, Apple created a real gold mine with the launch and opening of the App Store for third-party apps. Originally, it was only intended to make the iPhone more attractive, but ten years later it was clearly more than that. Apple generated more revenue with the App Store in 2017 than McDonalds in 2016 with all its stores around the world. Unlike the thousands of McDonald’s fast food restaurants, which also cost a lot of money, Apple has only managed this with a single online store. In 2017, the total revenue from the Apple App Store was around 26. billion dollars, of which 70% got to developers and 30% to Apple. That’s about 11 billion dollars!

How do you make money with apps?

Not every monetization strategy fits every app. It is therefore advisable to start thinking about the various possibilities of monetizing apps in the concept phase. Depending on the monetization model, the implementation requires more or less development effort, which should also be included. Basically there are two sources for sales with one app:

The End Users

Advertisers

Alternative forms of profitable apps

The Return on Investment (ROI) of many successful apps does not take place within the app but indirectly. This means that the app promotes the image, appeals to potential customers, reaches a new target group, or serves as a means to an end. There are also countless apps which are developed to optimize processes and thus save a lot of costs, but do not generate sales in the classic sense. Many apps are therefore developed as marketing instruments, as services or tools in order to bring about monetization (or cost savings) outside the app economy. For example, the all-in-one Smarthome App SARAH for HUBWARE AG, which can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store. The end customers must first procure the necessary smart hardware components and have the networks set up and paid for in house before this app has any real benefit for the Smarthome owners. Of course, there are also non-profit projects where the aim of the app is to provide a social or ecological benefit and, for example, to sensitize humanity to our plastic problem or the protection of animals.

The classic monetisation strategies for apps

The main app business models and revenue streams are:

Advertising

Free to download. Turnover with advertisements or logo presences paid by advertisers or sponsors.

Freemium

Free download with the possibility to extend the lifetime of a full version by in-app purchases or a subscription, new content or functions. Pay users.

Premium

Paid apps, which cost already during the download and the turnover comes through the user.

Data

There are also apps that generate sales with the usage data in addition to or in addition to advertising revenues and sales. A prominent example would probably be Facebook.

It often makes sense to integrate several revenue sources at the same time in order to generate the greatest possible revenue with one app. There are no rules in the app stores that say that you cannot implement sponsoring partners, in-app purchases and a subscription model for an app.

Freemium business model

Frequently, free apps have integrated advertising banners, native advertising or sponsor logos. App publishers sell (auction) their ad spaces via so-called ad networks, which automatically play out the highest bidding ad in the appropriate format. Alternatively, publishers make a contract with sponsor partners who pay a fixed amount for a presence in the app.

“AN APP ONLY BECOMES INTERESTING FOR ADVERTISING NETWORKS FROM AROUND 20,000 REGULAR APP USERS.”

A clever option for publishers is to give the end user the opportunity to buy advertising freedom. The user therefore pays an amount via in-app purchase so that he no longer has to see any advertising. This model is often combined with other in-app purchase options such as new levels (in games), new content (in learning apps) or new functions (productivity apps). In addition, this model can also be combined with the subscription model, in which end users pay a recurring rather than a one-off amount for the use of the app. It is important to know that an app needs a lot of downloads and regular users (only from about 20’000 regular app users) to become interesting for advertising networks and to earn money with it.

In-App-Purchase

The In-App purchase model can be used to sell a wide variety of digital goods. From the publisher’s point of view, it is important that the basic version (Free) already offers enough added value so that an end user is motivated to pay for a better experience, new functions or additional content. The offer should be made to the user at the right time and in the right context and should of course be attractive. Examples of in-app purchases are:

Advertising freedom (see above)

Additional “experiences” like levels or e.g. magic weapons in games

Additional content and functions (e.g. learning apps)

A longer useful life

Additional user accounts or connections

Personalized functions and services (e.g. recommendations based on app data)

Access to exclusive offers

Subscription based Apps

End users are very reluctant and cautious to accept contracts with recurring costs. However, if this model is implemented once, the value of the app and of course the regular revenue with each new subscriber increases. This model is used successfully in the entertainment and news industry. Examples would be Spotify/Deezer as music services, Netflix for video streaming, Die Zeit or the Sonntagszeitung in the News section. Also some learning apps like Mondly have a subscription model.

Important rules for using the in-app purchase funtion

There are clear rules of the App Stores regarding the use of the in-app purchase function, which of course also apply to subscription models purchased via in-app. The most important rule is that you can only offer services via in-app purchase that are purely digital in nature. This means that the product is 100% digital. In order for an app to be available for download in the App Store through Apple/Google through the App Review at all, all sales of digital goods must be handled by In-App purchase. This rule is very important and means that you can’t simply bypass the 30% revenue share of the app stores. Services and products, on the other hand, which are sold within the apps but are not provided digitally but physically and outside the apps, must not be sold with In-App purchase. These would be e.g. taxi apps like the go! App or mCommerce apps like Amazon, etc.

Premium app business model

The premium business model means that an app costs money right from the start and that the user is already asked to pay for the download of the app. From the publisher’s point of view, there is no need for the not-so-trivial integration of in-app purchase functions and no need to install paywalls. You can simply define how expensive the app should be in the individual app stores. Which prices (price points) can be given can be found in the respective price lists of the Apple and Google App Stores.

“FOR APPS WITH A VERY LIMITED POTENTIAL TARGET GROUP, BUT A GREAT ADDED VALUE FOR THE END USER, A PREMIUM APP WITH A HIGH PRICE CAN LEAD TO THE BIGGEST PROFIT.”

The big disadvantage of this model is that many users are not willing to spend a lot of money on a digital product if they have not yet tried it out and are convinced of its usefulness. For this reason, this model works best when the user can already imagine the benefits the app will bring. This is often the case for apps with a high degree of recognition and reputation, such as the Atlas of Human Anatomy. Most people recognize the functions and added values of such an app, because they can be found, for example, in advertising.

  Most people quickly recognize the functions and added value of such an app because they have heard about it in advertisements, for example, and are therefore willing to pay for the download without first testing the app intensively. Another disadvantage of this model is that it is very difficult from the beginning, but also over time, to find the ideal price (highest revenue) for an app. Either you demand a lot but get only a few downloads or you demand very little and have to generate a lot of downloads to generate a decent turnover. In the case of apps with a very limited potential target group, but a large added value for the end user, a premium app with a high price can lead to the biggest profit. We are convinced that an intelligent combination of the various monetization options can generate the highest revenues.

Calculate potential sales of an app

We are often asked how much money you can earn with apps, or how many downloads you will get. We can’t answer both questions just like that. Very often, however, we observe that the potential of the app is overestimated because wrong assumptions are made. In order to avoid this, we recommend using the intersection method to get a reasonably realistic picture of the effective potential.

How can the monetarization potential be determined?

First, the maximum possible target group must be determined. This can often be determined via statistics portals such as Statista, the Federal Statistical Office or other data sources from the relevant subject area. Everything that has to be excluded due to a criterion or a certain circumstance is now “cut off” from this maximum potential.

Thus the second step is to define the criteria and circumstances which lead to an exclusion of this customer group or a reduction of the effective potential. Criteria that are typical for an app:

How many of the potential users can be reached with the existing advertising budget? In most of the projects that we supervise, this criterion already accounts for around 90% – 95%.

How many of these people have a smartphone and an App Store account? These are probably the vast majority nowadays, i.e. around 90%.

How many of those potential users who learn about the app and have a smartphone will actually download it? If this is 10%, it would be a very good value already.

How many downloaders will still use the app after three months (App Retention)? If this is 20%, it’s already a good value.

How many of the app users would be willing to pay to upgrade the app (in the case of a Freemium model)? If these are 10% of all Freemium users, that’s already a good number.

Depending on the app and the business model you have to define different “exclusion criteria”. The possible criteria are very diverse. The situation becomes critical if several criteria have to be fulfilled in order to reach a user. At the end of the day, there is often only a few percent left of the great potential, which often dazzles you at first glance.

Tips for monetising apps

If advertising integration is an option, it is essential to ensure that it does not impair usability or the user experience. Therefore, you should only allow advertising that fits the context of use and not at the expense of user flow or user navigation.

Several monetization options can be combined: For example, one can give the user the possibility to choose whether he/she prefers to watch an advertisement or whether he/she prefers advertising freedom via subscription or in-app purchase.

In addition to different amounts for in-app purchase options, you should also be able to offer the whole package at a reduced price (added value for end users).

The ideal price has to be tested – it can hardly be determined in advance. By means of A/B testing and analysis of downloads/turnovers over time, one should, however, be able to approach the best price for the app or also for in-app purchases.

Downloads and sales can be boosted by a good referral program. Dropbox, Airbnb, Uber or Booking.com show how “user-advertising-new-users” can be implemented correctly and profitably for all participants. Such a referral program should also be part of a monetization strategy.

Don’t forget the taxes, levies and revenue sharing of the App Stores! Often a publisher only realises at the first accounting that a considerable part of the turnover has to be transferred to the App Stores and a further part to the VAT. Attention: The VAT rates are not the same everywhere in the world!

It is of course very important that an international app is translated into the local languages (localization). It is also important to adjust the price of your app to the purchasing power of the country to get the most out of it.

A realistic potential (user, turnover) can be identified by the interface method.

What experiences did you have with your app?

The topic of monetization strategy for apps is very broad and complex. We also learn new things every day and are of course very excited about your experiences with the monetization of apps. Please let us know your findings – via social media or via e-mail to [email protected]. If you would like to develop your monetization strategy together with us, we naturally offer our entire know-how and look forward to your request.

Making an app known and getting downloads is one of the key tasks of a good app marketing strategy to achieve the desired success for your project or customer.

Currently, you invest most of your time as an application developer in developing the product and meeting the deadlines you set or agreed with your customer. If you talk to any freelance programmer, he will surely tell you that he doesn’t have time to do all the testing he wants and that he leaves the mobile marketing for the time after he finished the app. Maybe app advertising isn’t your strong suit. As a programmer or designer, even if you know that advertising and promotion of your app is fundamental, in the end you are exhausted and don’t invest time and resources in it. It’s not right to rest and let this happen in the end.

App Marketing

Definition and prerequisites of App Marketing

App marketing can be defined as the marketing of an application that is installed on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. App Store Optimization (ASO) is indispensable for effective app marketing so that as many users as possible can find your app quickly. Marketing requires the use of suitable keywords with handy descriptions, so that the ranking in the App Store and also in the search engines increases.

This is very important because around nine out of ten downloads are carried out via an organic search in the Play Store. No more than 4000 characters may be used as a description, so a clear, concise functional description of the app is very important. Other positive aspects of the ASO are that both the number of downloads and the traffic to the website are rising sharply.

Google’s Analytics Keyword Tool can help to find suitable keywords, because it can not only be used to research popular keyword suggestions for websites, but also for apps. If you need more inspiration, check out the guide on how to find app store optimization keywords.

Functional principle for successful app marketing

An important aspect of app marketing is to narrow down the target group before publication. The usage behavior of a tablet user, who mainly takes more time for the details of an app, differs from that of a smartphone user, who is primarily concerned with speed.

The production of a first-class video that briefly explains the core functions of the app is also part of the marketing process. In addition, similar competitor products should be tested and checked before the market launch in order to compare the scope of services, their keywords and the price level with the own app.

App Marketing tips for a successful start

Another success factor of an app is to search for ratings and comments of other users. If there are negative ratings, you must react quickly to programming errors or usability optimizations in order to provide updates. The app must also be responsive, so that the application adapts flexibly and automatically to different display sizes.

A professional icon design should not be missing, after all, the first visual impression contributes a lot to distribution and sales promotion. If foreign materials are integrated into your app using videos, images or texts, licensing and copyright must be clarified in advance.

  App Growth Marketing – 5 Tips

Topics such as app store optimization, temporary promotions or referrals by active and convinced users (referral tactics) should be just as much a part of the standard repertoire of app developers as a meaningful name, a suitable logo or the localization of app store descriptions and apps. But what other possibilities do app marketers have?

Calculate investments

The fact that an app is “viral” is unfortunately very rare. Unfortunately, hope and belief in one’s own “product” are not enough. An app is actually a product – with all the implications that go with it from a business point of view. This also includes the calculation of marketing budgets. It is not without reason that we very often see content recommendations, social media advertising and video ads on Youtube or television for the most successful gaming apps. These companies invest in their product and calculate exactly the ROI (Return-On-Invest = How much turnover did an ad campaign actually generate?) or the LTV (Life-Time-Value = How much turnover did a user generate over the entire period of use, for example through in-app purchases?) for each individual measure. Since the most successful companies often generate revenues in the hundreds of millions, they can achieve considerable advertising pressure. Startups, on the other hand, have to start with a much smaller budget. It is therefore important that they check very carefully which channels make sense for them and what they get back for every euro they have invested. But it won’t work without investment.

Create a content hub

With thematically appropriate content, new users can first be enthusiastic about a topic and then converted. Targeted communication helps to increase user interaction and encourage them to actively use the app. The first step is a dedicated blog in which the topics related to the app are reported regularly and in a professional manner. Whether education, travel or efficient working: Many app providers already rely on this channel. There is inspiration on the blogs of numerous fitness apps such as Runtastic, Freeletics, 8fit or BodyChange. Their magazines are edited by content teams and can certainly compete with the offerings of larger publishers. On these pages, however, the app providers do not report on the app, but on new fitness trends, the right diet and general well-being.

Avoid direct links to the app store

The purpose of creating content hubs or appealing landing pages is to reduce costs. In general, articles that deal with certain topics separately from the actual product are clicked on much more frequently than direct product pages or download links. App providers can thus reduce the click price and thus the cost of the first contact with the brand. The conversion of the website visitor becomes decisive, especially on mobile devices. Smart app banners that appear above the actual page and link directly to the app store are not perceived as intrusive, but are still very effective. Clear CTA (Call-to-Actions) such as “Download the app now” in button form are also among the best practices.

Think further than Facebook and Search

Social media and search are often used in online advertising. However, there is also a very high advertising volume on these channels. Many competitors are already active on these channels and you have to compete with them. This drives up prices. Click prices of several euros on many popular search terms make a positive ROI for a newcomer app very unlikely. In addition, search ads are not suitable for all apps, but can only be recommended for those that solve a problem, such as apps for finding service providers such as tutors or craftsmen. It therefore makes sense to open up further distribution channels. Depending on the target group, different options are available. Exclusive partnerships with niche theme portals appeal to top target groups. Marketing platforms and networks permit a broad distribution. In addition, influencer marketing, for example, is very suitable for the promotion of gaming apps. However, it is always important to ensure that sponsored content is clearly labelled.

Track downloads and in-app purchases

For any marketing activity, tracking download numbers or in-app purchases is critical to calculate the exact ROI or LTV and adjust its strategy. For example, providers such as Appsflyer, Tune, adjust, Kochava, App Annie or Etracker offer the right solutions. The tracking insights help companies to optimize their customer approach in addition to the conversion funnel. Customers can thus be reached in an even more targeted way, which has a positive effect on the conversion rate and turnover. By analyzing the data, app marketers gain valuable information for further marketing tactics. iOS users differ from Android users in their usage behavior. For example, they are more willing to make in-app purchases. These findings can be used for promotions. By the way: A marketing trick for content hubs was also used in the title of this article: Odd numbers arouse more interest than even numbers and tips also achieve above-average performance – did it work?!

But even with all these tips, you still should go international with your app, so here are some further tips for international app promotions:

Tips for the international marketing of apps

On our planet there are about 6500 different languages spoken and the market for mobile apps is growing in all countries and regions of the world. It is estimated that by 2022 the number of downloads of apps worldwide will be almost 259 billion. For companies and app developers who want to position their apps internationally, here is a small overview of the most important factors to consider when marketing your app in multiple languages.

Find out target markets

Identify countries with a high volume of smartphones and consider in which countries the app should be published.

Research similar apps, analyse their strengths and weaknesses and highlight their unique selling points.

Weigh up possible cultural acceptance of the market for your own app.

Localization: adaptation of the app to the cultural and linguistic peculiarities of the respective market

Instead of simply translating the name of the app 1to1 into the other language, consider whether there is a more suitable expression in the local language for the service offered. For example, the app “Evernote” became “Yinxiang Biji” (Memory Note) when it expanded to China

Already during the design of the text fields in the GUI of the app, it should be kept in mind that texts in other languages can take different orders of magnitude.

Other elements that need to be considered when localizing an app: Date and time format, metadata, symbols and icons, colors, currency formats, graphic design, as well as the legal texts and their legal security.

Translations

The app should support all languages spoken in the target country. Start translating with your native language and then add the lesser-used languages gradually.

About 70% of app users are not native English speakers. According to a study, the number of app downloads increases by 120% and sales by 26% when an app is translated into the local language.

An app in English, Spanish and Chinese is understandable for about 50% of all app users worldwide.

Languages in which the willingness of users to buy is above average: Spanish, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Dutch and Italian.

Many downloads beckon when the app is published in Russian, Portuguese or Mandarin.

Choice of App Stores

While Google Play and the Apple App Store are the preferred download sites in the US, Google Play, for example, is completely missing in China. Instead, app developers there use Baidu, which is already the second largest app distribution channel in the world.

The right choice of distribution channel in the target country is crucial for success.

Users will not change their download habits to download your app.

Stay active on the local social channels

Add your app to local social networks and allow users to register with the app through these channels as well.

For example, China: Renren, South Africa: MXit, Russia: V Contacts.

If you want to offer users the possibility to log in via Facebook or Twitter, this should also be done on a country-specific basis, as this option is not available in all countries.

Regional support teams

As soon as the app is successful in a certain language region, it makes sense to set up a local team there. Setting up a global team requires a lot of work. But in the long run, it can be worth it.

Localization of: App website, social media channels and corporate strategy.

Regionalization of: Marketing, support, public relations and legal department.

Applying for a patent at country level

Marketing an app worldwide is a big challenge. But with good research and preparation, international success is possible.

Source: https://www.translatebyhumans.com/en/services/translation/app/how-to-market-your-app-internationally

  The right app marketing for success

App marketing is playing an increasingly important role in the course of the digitalization of society and the exponentially increasing use of mobile devices: Projections assume that by the 2020s at the latest, apps will generate sales of over 200 billion US dollars. The increasing relevance of app marketing is also linked to the fact that the market for apps is already highly competitive, even to the extent that it tends to become increasingly confusing. The efficient placement of a newly developed app is thus becoming increasingly difficult. Despite the enormous competition, the tips presented here will enable you to set your apps apart from the crowd, effectively increase the growth rate and ultimately secure your long-term success.

If you look at successful mobile apps, you can see several similarities but also big differences between the download stars. But they all have one thing in common: a well thought-out design and outstanding usability. App design, on which the usability depends above all, is one of the most elementary factors in the development process. But inexperienced developers in particular often get bogged down here. So what do you have to consider when designing a mobile app with regard to usability?

The basics of app design

The first person to design an app must first be aware of the screen size he or she is developing for. There is a wide variety of screens on the market, and it makes a big difference whether you are designing for a screen on a mini smartphone or a tablet. The differences become even more extreme when considering smartwatches. It is often necessary for an app to be able to adapt to several sizes. However, adapting an app to different sizes and resolutions is very labor-intensive.

No successful mobile app without perfect design

Colouring is also an important aspect of App Design. Each colour has its own effect on the viewer and conveys its own message. Two questions in particular have to be answered when designing the colours: Which emotion do I want to trigger in the user? Does my colour match the image and, for example, the logo of my company or project? It must also be noted that the same colour can have a different effect, depending on how it is used. A thick red border, for example, can appear very aggressive, with delicate red design elements such as small red hearts making a completely different statement.

The definition of the fonts is closely linked to the colouring. The most suitable font for a good app design is Sans Serif (in all versions), as it is very easy to read. In addition, large characters can be optimally displayed in this font. In addition, Sans Serif has a good line thickness and special characters are not disproportionately large. In general, very ornate characters should only be used to a very limited extent and with caution.

In particular, companies wishing to have a business app developed must be extremely careful to ensure that the design of their app matches their image and other public image. For customers it is consciously and unconsciously very confusing if they know a logo and then encounter a completely different design in the app.

It’s not easy to always create the right design for your own app. After all, you don’t just want to create a small version of your website, but offer the user real added value. But it is very important to find a way between “exactly the same” and “completely unfamiliar”.

We actually we a whole guide on colours in app design here.

Usability – the magic word for app designers

The success of a mobile application depends very much on the usability of the app. We have already mentioned some important determinants of usability: The correct adaptation to the screen size and the appropriate font and color are basic requirements for a good usability of an app. Errors in the development of usability cost users directly – not one or two, but probably all!

The technical progress is a blessing and a curse at the same time. On the one hand, new ways and possibilities are always open to developers to improve the usability of an app. On the other hand, the speed with which innovations become available ensures that the competition reacts very quickly. For example, an app that is not state of the art is punished immediately.

Today, mobile phones are no longer just there to call someone or write a message. Smartphones, tablets and wearables penetrate all areas of life and make everyday life easier. But they can only do this because new mobile apps offer many ways to help people quickly and easily.

Good applications are effective and efficient. This means that they create something for us and at the same time do their job quickly and easily. Only apps with excellent usability meet these requirements.

Especially if you look at which mobile apps are not successful, it quickly becomes clear that applications that cannot be handled intuitively and uncomplicatedly disappear quickly and forever into the infinite vastness of the app stores. Users prefer to do without a service rather than have it done by a bad app.

Or they look for a competitor for it. For example, many commercial banks use apps to make banking easier for their customers. But some apps are so badly designed that bank customers prefer to do their business on the PC or at the bank branch. In the worst case, they say goodbye to competitors with a better app.

How does app usability work?

Mobile applications are mostly very short-lived. Many apps are downloaded out of interest, tried out and deleted again. Why is this so?

Users see an app in the App Store and find it interesting. So they download it and open it. The first seconds are already very decisive. Let’s stick to the above mentioned properties of an app. Often the app design is so boring, or so overloaded, that the user loses interest after a few moments, or thinks the app is dubious, unfashionable or cheap. This can be because of the coloring, the text properties or the wrong adaptation to the screen. To create a perfect user interface and a good user experience is very complicated and it is not done with the right color and a successful font. But it is precisely these features that have an extremely direct and immediate effect on the user.

The most important thing about app design is that it has a coherent concept. It’s not about placing the favorite color or coming along as bright and conspicuous as possible. Design is a science in itself and there won’t be a successful app in the store that doesn’t have a well thought-out design.

Further factors for app usability

In the following, we would like to describe to you what is still important when it comes to usability. Elsewhere we have covered the topics in detail, which is why we will limit ourselves to a short list:

Offline mode:

Some apps urgently require you to be able to work without an Internet connection. For example, what is the point of a navigation app for the high mountains if it only works with an Internet connection?

Target group:

This topic is related to the one described above. A pink-coloured business app is more daring. But also a dark brown online shop for ceramic dolls.

Speed:

The speed of the app is an important point in usability. Above all, an app should be loaded quickly and run smoothly.

Comprehensibility:

Most users only want to use an app for a short time in order to obtain the desired information. The application must therefore communicate this information in a way that is easy to understand.

Concentration:

It is a common mistake to provide too much information and thus impair usability. Concentrate on the essentials.

Automation:

Repetitive actions should be carried out automatically as far as possible.

This enumeration shows the most important points, according to our perception. Of course, the usability factors of mobile apps are not limited to this. If you miss important points, write us in the comments. Discuss and share your opinion with us!

Over 6 Million Apps combined are fighting for attention in the App Store. On average, the smartphone owner only uses seven of them. To get their app onto the customer radar, companies need a cross-platform app strategy.If companies want to successfully place their app on the market, they have to work hard in many areas simultaneously. Developing the app, marketing the app and distributing the app are the three most important pillars. If one of these is too short or even missing, the desire for successful app placement can easily collapse. To avoid this, companies must select the appropriate marketing channels for themselves and their apps. After reading this, you may ask yourself: how to market your app? In this article we will present your 15 ideas for your app marketing!

Advantages and disadvantages of the best-known App Stores

In order not to get lonely in the App Store, companies have to try out some channels to promote their app. However, applying the trial-and-error principle to store selection is not right for all apps. Placing your apps in every App Store is not always worthwhile and especially not for everyone. Because uploading to the App Store also costs time and money. Added to this is the fast pace of the channels. Digital business models that work today can no longer be popular or even exist tomorrow. The decisive factor in app marketing is not what which channel costs, but how much you can do or can do in which channel.

Advantages and disadvantages of Google Play, Apple’s App Store and Facebook’s App Center:

Google Play for Android

Advantage: Android has the largest user reach due to the highest distribution. Furthermore, Google Play updates and, thanks to the open Android system, the distribution of advertising media via USB stick is also possible. Alternative methods such as cost-per-install are also possible. Disadvantage: Technical implementation very complex due to the high fragmentation of the Android market: There are X different device types and therefore X different resolutions. This makes it very difficult to take the middle course.

Apple’s Appstore for iOS

Advantage: Almost no fragmentation, this simplifies development. Trust leap through the image of the Apple brand. Disadvantage: The time-to-maket loss is relatively high at three to four weeks, since Apple releases the apps itself. This is something that start-ups in particular have to take into account for time-critical projects. Apple is not a very big fan of push services or bots and usually reacts to such practices by exercising its householder rights with an extreme downgrade or even banishment of the app from the store.

Facebooks App Center for Android and iOS

Advantage: The setting of the apps is simple and happens immediately. The apps are only checked later using user ratings.

Disadvantage: The Facebook App Center is not yet fully established. Only apps with good ratings are listed.

Here 15 ways to market your app

Placing your own app in the AppStore, Google Play or Facebooks App Center is still relatively easy – provided you follow their rules. However, it’s much harder to get into their top 25. To do this, you have to use and link various marketing tools skilfully.

1. In-app advertising In-App-Advertising in already successful and well-known apps, e.g. in the form of banner advertising. Very high effectiveness and low target group wastage.

2. Mobile SEO for the Appstore App marketing is an important component of mobile SEO. Many SEO laws apply when you want to be seen in the Appstore. Extremely important for a good placement is the description text. This must be well written, contain the right keywords and be updated regularly. However, a one-time effort in writing the text for the appstore is not enough if the app is advertised throughout the year.

3. Screenshots Screenshots are very important because they leave the user with a first impression of the app and thus have a door opener function. If you want to know which colors to use, check this guide.

4. Direct linking to the download in the Appstore The direct link to the download in the Appstore is extremely important for the download generation of the app. Conversely, the link to your own page is just as important for a more detailed description of the app. It should always be made as easy as possible for the user to inform himself about the app and to download it.

5. YouTube and Slideshare The use of the platforms Slideshare and Youtube for the placement of interactive user manuals is very popular with users.

6. Search function in the Appstore The search function in the appstores must be fed with the correct tags and keywords to find the app. It is essential for successful app positioning and contributes to user experience. You can learn more about finding the right keywords here!

7. Social Media and Word of Mouth Channels like Facebook and Twitter are especially important from the developer’s point of view, as the stores usually don’t offer them the opportunity to give feedback to which they can respond. The social media channels help the developers to improve the app on the one hand and provide a viral WOM boost on the other. However, these methods are very time-consuming. However, WOM and SM have a good cost-benefit ratio, because extremely much can be achieved with extremely little work, provided the right contacts are available.

8. Micro-websites Developers should always offer their own website for their app, because they never have the chance to present their app in the stores as the developers would like it to be. Be it with a built-in video or more beautiful backgrounds than in the store.

9. User reviews High user ratings have a clearly positive influence on whether users download the app or not. A rating of three out of five points makes the app less attractive.

10. In-App-Purchases It is important that the user is prepared to pay for the app – even with Freemium models, where sales are generated in the form of in-app purchases, subscriptions or premium upgrades.

11. Press and blogs The viral spread via influencer blogs is currently almost the most important. If you want to learn more about press releases for android app marketing, click here.

12. Existing user base An established brand should also use its existing marketing channels to market and promote its apps.

13. Print advertising with integrated QR codes In addition to the print run, the great trust that users still place in this medium also counts for print. In addition, print with an integrated QR code is currently in such high demand because the media data can be used to estimate exact amounts for advertising in advance.

14. Television In the SmartTV and second screen era, the importance of television as an advertising channel is growing even more due to its connection to the Internet. Television still reaches – especially in connection with the Internet – most viewers with the smallest media discontinuity. The keyword here is Second Screen, which according to current figures 49 percent of online users already use.

15. Buying up by means of marketing tools Getting high goes relatively fast with enough money in the background through so-called “buying high”. But the app should stay on top. Because as soon as the marketing budget is spent, these pushed apps fall again very fast. Companies should therefore invest in a long-term marketing strategy for their app. Any app should also be designed for the long term. A long-term business model is therefore the recipe for success.

How to measure the success of apps

Downloads are very often mentioned as one of the most important measuring methods. However, it is also important to consider the frequency of app usage and the return of app users. This is the only way to generate long-term sales. This is also more desirable because it puts the product in the foreground and not the sale of the app. If the number of downloads is the desired goal, then the top 25 AppStores have to be ranked, because the highlighted position significantly increases the visibility of the app. In order to achieve such a placement through reach, users must be offered a high-quality app with a good idea, which can demonstrate good design and implementation, and the combination of the various marketing channels must be used.

The future of the mobile web

In the long run the programming language HTML5 Apps will weaken in its meaning. HTML5 makes it easy to download applications directly from the web with a wide range of functions, and does not distinguish between mobile and desktop devices. That’s why the mobile Internet will gradually swallow the app from a strategic point of view. First, more and more features in the apps are downloaded directly from the web, until the application is finally fully integrated into the mobile page. This means: The journey goes from the homepage to the app and to the mobile homepage. The app is thus something like a fixed advertising banner of a company, a harbinger of the bookmark of the mobile website. Nevertheless or precisely because of this, it is important to be represented with an app on customers’ mobile devices – they ensure brand visibility and direct traffic directly to your own company. Those who don’t have an app today will disappear from the customer radar when the apps are integrated into the mobile websites.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is actually only mentioned in the context of Google optimization for websites, or is used by popular search engines such as YouTube (as a video search engine) or Amazon (as a product search engine). But which ranking factors actually determine the ranking position of a mobile app and how does effective mobile app marketing work for applications on tablets and smartphones?

Mobile App SEO: What does the App Ranking in the App Store depend on?

As with all search engines, the Google Play Store (for Android devices) and the Apple App Store (for iPhones) also use intelligent algorithms to determine where an app is located and whether it appears further up or further down in the search results. The targeted optimization of these mobile SEO criteria can therefore sustainably advance your app in the Play Store ranking. If you are interested in learning more about App Store Optimization, click here.

Tip 1: App performance as a new ranking factor in app store optimization

A completely new ranking factor was recently added to the Google Play Store at the beginning of August 2017: The app performance. This refers to the quality and user experience of an app. The more often your app crashes, the more often it is uninstalled and the more battery a mobile app uses up, the more negative it will have on the position of an app in the search results.

Google wants to prevent app users from being unnecessarily frustrated by unstable apps and thus actively promotes the ranking of high-quality programmed apps. (Post in the Android developer blog).

By using practical Google tools such as Android Vitals, the Google Play Console or Android Analytics, mobile app developers can identify and eliminate any performance weaknesses, which in turn has a positive effect on the classic ranking factors in the Google App Store.

Tip 2: Classic ranking factors in mobile app SEO & app marketing

The obvious SEO ranking factors for mobile apps should not surprise anyone and are as follows:

The average rating

The number of ratings

The content of the reviews

The number of downloads

Keywords in the description and in the app name

Yes, keywords are important. So think about what your app should be called based on a keyword search and write a good description text using important semantic terms. Otherwise, you can’t generate relevance to a specific search query in the app store and waste essential potential in app marketing. The free keyword planner from Google is the tool of choice for research purposes.

Also use the bundle identifier in the Google Play Store to add other important terms to which you want to be found. Here you should absolutely enter your company name, if this is not possible in the app name, or desired.

In addition, you should make sure that your app does not contain any malware. Therefore, it was only in April 2017 that Google completely removed 41 apps from the Play Store.

The following tips explain how you can improve the classic mobile app ranking factors.

Tip 3: Increase app popularity through organic search

The number of downloads you make depends heavily on how well your app is found. So if your mobile app has a good ranking to interesting keywords in the normal organic Google search via desktop or mobile device, it increases your chance that your app will be found by your target group. Past studies have discovered a direct connection between the ranking on Google and the popularity in the App Store, which can be visualized in a self-propelled cycle.

This is how it works: As soon as your app has a good visibility on Google, the new user will be attracted to the app store and will lead to more downloads. More downloads increase the app popularity (SEO ranking in the App Store) and lead to more downloads. The resulting increased app popularity is registered by the algorithm of the organic Google search and rewards you with even better visibility. Which in turn attracts new users to the App Store … and so on and so forth. As you can see, an almost endless cycle for your App-Marketing can arise once the wheel turns.

How can you get this water mill running? We’ll go into this in the following.

Tip 4: App Store SEO: Use brand and brand names as app names and for links

Ideally, your app should contain the brand name of your company, if the app is related to it. This will make your brand appear in all link texts in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store links, giving you greater relevance. External link sources are also more likely to increase the visibility of the brand name and app name.

Tip 5: Include the app name in all link texts to the App Store for good Mobile SEO

Also be sure to mention the app name in your own link texts and within the URLs of download pages. A link to the download page of your app should therefore never be called “Hier geht’s zur App”, but should always contain the app name including the brand. And avoid to link the app via pictures or graphics alone – that would be fatal for the SEO.

Tip 6: iOS & Google Play Store: Link the download page of the app from your homepage

This is really important: You want to make the search engines understand that your brand / your company is directly related to the app. Therefore, place a prominent link from your homepage to the download page in the app store. As a position you can use either the footer, an overview page of all your developed apps, or landing pages within your website with additional information like reviews, ratings, interesting features and so on. The main thing is that the linking is easy and fast to find. It is best to use all three options for your mobile app SEO.

Professional tip: Use the Mark Up via structured data from schema.org to get the chance for rich snippets.

Tip 7: App Promotion: Build qualitative backlinks for your mobile apps

After you have created your own landing pages for your apps within your website, it would be great if these pages had qualitative backlinks. So make sure your mobile app gets the attention it deserves. You can write to tech bloggers and ask for a review, contact online editors of big e-business magazines, address testimonials, or target specific forums where your potential users cavort.

Avoid artificial link building in any case and never buy any link packages from ominous providers – you risk being punished by Google and lose your visibility in the worst case.

Tip 8: Integrate a QR code on your website for better app marketing

QR codes: These are the little funny pixel cubes that were enormously fashionable some time ago and were printed on all products and posters and still enjoy great popularity today. In very rare cases it is worthwhile to integrate the QR codes on websites: For example, if you want to ask a desktop user to download an app for his smartphone. This facilitates handling, pleases the user and represents a super optimization of your usability.

Tip 9: Use Google AdWords and the app extension for mobile apps

If you have exhausted all previous possibilities of app marketing, you can also apply for your mobile app via Search Engine Advertising (SEA). In Google AdWords you have e.g. the possibility to activate targeted app extensions in ads and thus get optimal campaigns on mobile devices.

In addition, you can create an advertising campaign in Google’s display network and advertise your app within other mobile apps, and thus target your target group.

Summary

There’s no easy way to create a good ranking for a mobile app in the iOS and Google Play Store – but these tips should definitely steer you in the right direction and show you how to create synergy effects between the app stores and the organic search.

The foundation of any successful app is, of course, solid and user-friendly programming. Do you have further questions about mobile apps or do you need consulting in online marketing? We are looking forward to your request.